AN OPEN LETTER & SOME APOLOGIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1031, 17 August 1911, Page 4

AN OPEN LETTER & SOME APOLOGIES.

To the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, Bart., and the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Labour. Dear Sirs, —In connection with the amendment to the I.C. and A. Act, now before the House, we owe the following letter and apologies. When you, last August, jointly promised the deputation from the N.Z. Federation of Labour, that in the amendment you would include a clause prohibiting awardbreaking by contracts for labour only, we believed you. We apologise for our foolishness in mistaking the celluloid imitation tendered by political expediencymongers for the honest ivory of truth which is current among straight-dealing men. We also owe, and hasten to pay, an apology to Mr Wm. Pryor, of the Employers’ Federation. When we discussed the matter with him in Palmerston and remarked that we had left the question of contracts out of our claims owing to your promise of legislation, Mr Pryor smilingly remarked, “It will never get Into the amendment.” We also smiled. You see we had the promises, jointly and separately, from you gentlemen that the thing would be stopped, and, with what the poet terms ‘‘the deep mind of dauntless infancy,” we believed you. So we apologise ;to Pryor for our disbelief in his statement; to you gentlemen for our belief in your sincerity. The system which we desired to block, rendered, as you may perhaps remember, the whole of the Arbitration Act null and void in any industry wherein it was possible to contract for labour only, i.e., in nearly every industry throughout the Dominion. We were desirous of getting this ingenious attempt to flout the Court squashed by legitimate legislation. As you gentlemen, however, appear to be acting hand in hand with the Employers' Federation in this matter, we would remind you that there are two ways of shifting a donkey, viz.,, carrots and kicks. We have tried to move the contract-system-ass with the carrot of an amendment. As you have frustrated this laudable effort we beg to tender you our assurance that the next time we have occasion to deal with the animal, we will do our own kicking. We guarantee to keep this promise. We are not Cabinet Ministers, so it may be considered binding. In the event of such- an unfortunate occurrence you will doubtless bear carefully in mind that the crudity of the latter course might have been avoided had the Premier of New Zealand and his Minister lor Labour been capable of even attempting to carry out their pledges. It must, however, be clearly understood that we shall not have much time to deal with any attempt to foist this system upon us (save in the unconvincing way of passive resistence!) until after November next. The interim will be fully filled in by a strenuous endeavour to return a Labour man for Otaki. Again renewing our regrets for our impulsive belief in your truthfulness.—We are, dear Sirs, yours faithfully, RICHARD H. DALHOUSIE,

President. PERCY T. ROBINSON, Secretary. Manawatu Flaxmills Employees’ Union, Palmerston North.